If you’ve been following the media or my posts, you know that on Saturday several parts of the world engaged in Earth Hour. Both commercial buildings and private residences voluntarily turned off their lights for an hour to make a statement about energy consumption and our impact on the environment.

We participated in my house, and I spent my hour reading by candlelight. I have a few observations about the experience.

1. I am completely, unconsciously hooked on electricity. When I enter a darkened room, I reflexively reach for the light switch. It’s hard to stop myself, even when I’m thinking about it. Change lasting more than an hour would clearly take real effort.
2. Nearly all of my standard evening pastimes require energy. When I have free time, I like to read, cook, knit, watch TV, use the computer. Now, while reading and knitting don’t technically require electricity, they certainly are more difficult by candlelight. Which brings me to my next observation…
3. It’s not as much fun to read by candlelight. I like electricity better. Posture is much more important when you have to keep your reading material near the candle, and after a while it’s uncomfortable. But to sit in my overstuffed chair with my legs flung over the arm as I often do, I’d have to put candles in my lap. Since I’m not keen on setting myself on fire, this obviously isn’t an option. So I’m back to improving my posture. I wouldn’t be reading as much at night if all I had were candles.
4. Not having electricity is so rare in my life that it’s an event to be planned for. Unable to fathom the thought of sitting in the dark talking only to each other for an hour, my husband and I invited some people over for Earth Hour. We thought we’d sit around and talk to our friends. But as it turned out, my husband was sick so we had to cancel it. Still, it made me think of all the places in the world where the absence of electricity is common. What a very different life I lead from the one I would have without constant energy.
5. If Americans didn’t have so much electricity, we might get enough sleep.

In the end, perhaps the best thing about Earth Hour isn’t the statement it made or the energy it saved, but rather the experience of really considering how thoroughly energy use is woven into our lives.

One of the purposes of ELCA World Hunger is to help people learn about hunger and its root causes. And it seems to me, if we can teach people when they’re young, so much the better! They will grow up with a better awareness of the world and their role in it. Which is why I think Food Force is such fun!

Food Force is a free computer game produced by the United Nations World Food Programme. It introduces a couple of causes of hunger, and spends time explaining some basics about the work of international aid organizations. All of this is done by making the player a member of a relief team responsible for getting food to hungry people in a fictional location. It’s intended for kids ages 8 to 13, and I can easily see how it would be a hit with that age group. It’s a bit too basic to really draw in older kids and adults, but having said that, I think most any age group would have fun with it once. I know I both enjoyed it and learned some things! And any age group could use it to open deeper discussion about causes of hunger, the nature of aid, and the roles of relief and long-term development.

Another thing I really like is the web site that goes with it. In addition to the game, there’s information about hunger in the world, real anti-hunger initiatives, nutrition, and support for teachers who want to use Food Force in the classroom. Admittedly, I’m not sure kids are going to spend much time with the additional information, but for parents and teachers who want to create more depth and structure around a Food Force experience, it’s really helpful.

So if you’ve got some time to kill this weekend, check it out! Just don’t do it tonight from 8 to 9 p.m. – it’s Earth Hour and you ought to turn your computer off along with your lights!

One of our hunger volunteers, Mary, forwarded me a link to an interesting blog posting. It’s written by Brian Konkol, a missionary who has recently moved to South Africa. In his March 11th post, he talks about a class he’s taking with several African students from different countries. They are discussing power in the world, who has it, how they use it, etc. The Africans point out to Brian that regardless of its popularity, the United States holds great power and influence throughout the world. The discussion causes Brian to ponder whether “we Americans… have used our vast collective power wisely.”

Brian, in turn, has caused me to ponder. The word “collective” really got my attention. What is the role of an individual American in wielding American power? I have absolutely no data to support this next claim, but here it is: I think that most Americans feel pretty divorced from the actions of the government, and especially its foreign policy. Of course there are exceptions. Politicians, lobbyists and activists are obvious ones. But how many of us, our friends, our family, feel they have anything to do with the Farm Bill? With federal budget allocations? With diplomatic relations?

Of course many of us vote, and that’s important (though many of us don’t!). But it’s often an isolated act. And to be perfectly honest, I don’t usually feel responsible for the ultimate outcome. I pick the candidate that seems to most closely align with my values and then hope for the best. Or I vote punitively, selecting the opposing candidate, regardless of who it is, in hopes of getting rid of the incumbent. Either way, once the voting is done, many of us return to our lives and shake our heads if the news is bad. Outside of this occasional activity, I suspect most Americans don’t feel they have a role in how American power is used in the world.

I’ve sometimes heard statements like, “We don’t have anything against the American people; it’s the government (or policy, or administration) we have issues with.” I think this statement is meant to make criticism easier to accept, but I wonder if instead it doesn’t just further divorce us from our government and policies. “Oh. They’re not talking about me! I’m not part of the government. I’ll just get back to what I was doing.” But is that true? Don’t we claim a representative government? Don’t we claim it represents its citizens – us? me?

Like Brian, I don’t really have answers. If you do, I’d love to hear them – please leave a comment! But I will continue to ponder what it means for an individual American to wield American power outside of a career in politics. Because American power in the world certainly has a role in ending hunger, and if I can wield some of that, I want to.

I have a new environmental pet peeve. My disappointment has caught me off-guard, seeing as how two weeks ago I hadn’t even thought of it. It wasn’t on my radar. But here it is now, in full force: Easter grass. Plastic Easter grass.

My daughter has received a couple of small Easter baskets from friends and family. The baskets are charming and pretty, and my first reaction was “ooh how cute!” And of course my daughter was delighted, and when she’s delighted, it tends to rub off on me.

Then she starting digging through the plastic grass to find the chocolate eggs contained within – a perfectly reasonable thing to do. And being a small child, strands of it scattered on the carpet. Before long it had followed her around the house. My first bit of annoyance crept in. The housekeeping variety. But it’s a holiday, and she was so pleased…

It took another half beat before I considered that though attractive in its basket, the Easter grass is really strands of plastic. And then I thought, What an unfortunate, disappointing waste. Think of the resources and expense to manufacture it, the amount of it that must get thrown away each year, and the fact that it will probably never decay. It is entirely unnecessary in life. And really, how much plastic Easter grass can one household keep and reuse from year to year? I have a bag full from last year. I don’t need more. Can it go in the recyling bin?

I admit this train of thought has taken a little of the shine off my enjoyment of Easter baskets. But there seems to be a simple solution: the home or business shredder. An easy opportunity for me to do better in caring for the Earth. Instead of giving Easter baskets with plastic grass, I’ll be filling any I give with tiny bits of my bank statements – something I already have and that’s headed for the garbage. What a great way to reuse some shredded paper!

Now it’s just a matter of getting the Easter Bunny to take a closer look at his suppliers…

Hello, all.
I’m writing an ELCA News blog about World Water Day, March 22. Does anyone know of a congregation or two that’s planning to acknowledge the day? … a congregational/youth group activity designed to bring attention to people in our world who lack clean, safe drinking water, etc? Is the activity taking place before, during or after worship? … perhaps the topic of a sermon? Please let me know as soon as possible. Thanks!
Melissa Ramirez Cooper
Associate Director, ELCA News Service



Hi, Melissa!
The new edition of ELCA World Hunger “Congregation Connections” and the new World Hunger “Reproducible Stories,” both at the printer as I type, feature water and justice themes. If any of you would like me to e-mail a story or bulletin-ready piece, just contact me.
This is also a good occasion to remind you to sign up to be a World Hunger contact at www.elca.org/hunger/contact and receive the Summer 2008 World Hunger Resource Packet which includes Congregation Connections, Water & Justice reproducible stories, and much more!
Blessings on your head! Sue

Hi, Melissa!
I imagine that a number of ELCA congregations will be conducting baptisms on March 22, since it is the Vigil of Easter this year. The Easter Vigil service is focused on baptism and the believer’s baptismal journey with Christ in his death and resurrection, following the tradition of the early church in baptizing converts at the Easter Vigil after catechesis during the season of Lent. The story of the Israelites crossing the Red Sea is read. When the Easter Vigil service is observed with gusto, a lot of water gets thrown about, and a thanksgiving prayer full of water references is prayed.
So, plenty of water connection in the worship on March 22 this year.
Marcus Kunz +

The headlines about rising food prices around the globe are sobering. The World Bank reports that wheat prices are up 200% since 2000 and overall food prices are up 75%. The increases are causing difficulty as people spend an ever-larger portion of their income on food. As usual, the poorest are hit the hardest. Meager incomes never went far, and when the cost of bread doubles, they can buy even less. In some places, people are protesting in the streets, as demonstrated by recent riots in Indonesia and Burkina Faso.

There are several converging reasons behind the increase of world food prices, including greater global demand, adverse weather affecting crop production, and the diversion of grain from food to biofuel. I recently ran across a nice explanation of these factors and their consequences. Check out the BBC Food Series. There are four video clips covering food supply stories in different parts of the world, and the top right of the page has links to several other related articles. (The link to the Chicago video clip is misdirected but you can get to it here.) If you’re wanting an quick education or need to explain the situation to others, this is a great place to start!

Looking for something you can do to help the planet and make a statement about resource consumption? Turn off all of your lights on March 29 from 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. It’s Earth Hour!

Earth Hour started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia, where residents and businesses (including the iconic Opera House) turned off their lights for one hour. According to the Earth Hour web site, the result was the equivalent of taking 48,000 cars off the road for a year!

This year the effort is going global. There are thousands of people from all over the world who have signed up to turn off their lights. Won’t you join me?

Several conversations in the past few days have left me thinking about this word: accompaniment. I use that word a lot, because it is the term we use to describe the model through which the ELCA partners with our neighbors around the world who are engaged in efforts to fight hunger and end extreme poverty. To me, it means acknowledging that no one knows better about the root causes of poverty than the person experiencing it him- or herself. It means letting go of a “take it or leave it” attitude, and embracing an attitude of service in a very real way. It means that I’m not “the decider” when it comes to how my gifts for God’s work will be used, but that those whose lives will be changed through the work ought to be leading and shaping it. It means that those gifts were not really mine to begin with…but they rightfully belong to God. Isn’t there a saying along those lines? Letting go and letting God…

P.S. The next time you have 38 minutes free, check out the Rev. Rafael Malpica Padilla’s comments on accompaniment – there’s a video available here (you need to have RealPlayer installed)…it’s kinda long, but good info.